Chapter 5 - THE MAN WHO OWNED THE HOUSE
Daniel returned to the estate just before sunset.
He did not go through the main entrance.
He entered through the service corridor and went straight to his uncle's office.
Robert Whitmore was seated behind the desk, reading a report. At sixty-four, he remained handsome in a polished, silver-haired way. His dark suit was perfectly pressed, and his cuff links had belonged to Daniel's grandfather.
He looked up with a warm smile.
“Daniel. You're home early.”
Daniel closed the door.
“Where is my mother?”
Robert's expression did not change.
“Your mother?”
“Eleanor.”
A pause.
Then Robert leaned back.
“I think you need some rest.”
“Don't.”
“Daniel, grief can do strange things.”
“I saw her.”
Robert's fingers stopped moving.
“Who?”
“My mother. She's alive.”
For the first time, Robert's face lost its warmth.
It lasted less than a second.
Then he smiled again.
“That's impossible.”
“Is it?”
“Your mother died in the fire.”
“You identified her?”
“I handled the arrangements.”
“That wasn't my question.”
Robert stood.
“Be careful how you speak to me. I've spent eighteen months protecting this family while you drifted through the house like a ghost.”
“Protecting the family from what?”
“From ruin.”
Daniel stepped closer.
“Did you forge a letter in my name?”
Robert's eyes narrowed.
“Who told you that?”
“So it happened.”
“I don't know what nonsense you've been fed.”
Daniel placed Margaret's letter on the desk.
Robert looked at it.
The room became very quiet.
“Where did you get this?”
“Does it matter?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Robert picked up the letter and read the first lines.
Then he tore it in half.
Daniel did not move.
“You're going to regret this,” Robert said.
“That's what people say when they have no explanation.”
Robert came around the desk.
“You have no idea what your father left behind. He made promises he couldn't keep. He endangered the company, the foundation, and everyone who depended on us.”
“Did he discover you were stealing from the foundation?”
Robert's face hardened.
“Your father was sentimental. He gave money to people who would never repay him.”
“Children. Families. People who needed help.”
“People who learned to depend on us.”
Daniel stared at him.
“You took money meant for them.”
“I kept the business alive.”
“You bought another house.”
“I made investments.”
“You bought a yacht.”
Robert's mouth tightened.
“You think running this family is simple? Your father left debts, legal disputes, and a foundation that swallowed money. Someone had to make difficult decisions.”
“Then why hide them?”
“Because you were too young to understand.”
Daniel laughed once.
“I'm thirty-two.”
“And still naïve.”
Robert returned to his desk.
“Listen carefully. Whatever woman you saw, she is not your mother. Someone has found a way to exploit your grief.”
Daniel turned toward the door.
“I'm having her examined by an independent physician. Her identity will be confirmed.”
Robert's voice sharpened.
“You will not bring her back here.”
Daniel stopped.
“Why?”
“Because she is unwell.”
“She has a name.”
“She is confused.”
“She remembers me.”
Robert's expression became cold.
“Then she should have stayed away.”
Daniel turned.
“What did you do to her?”
Robert did not answer.
Daniel opened the door.
Behind him, his uncle spoke in a quiet voice.
“If you bring Eleanor back into this house, you will lose the estate, the foundation, and everything your father built.”
Daniel looked over his shoulder.
May you like
“Maybe it's time we found out what my father actually built.”
Then he left.
